Ed & Hilde: Where the Streets Have No Name

I remember when this album came out. Like a powerhouse, it upended my life. I can’t even begin to translate the impact it had upon me. From that first strum of Edge’s guitar, from that very first note of the opening song “Where the Streets Have No Name” I am taken back to May 1987. I can’t remember any other album that was as anticipated as the new one from U2.

But lately, it has become another marker: I think of Ed & Hilde. Of the crowd I hung out with, of any of my friends, they were counting down the days until the release of Joshua Tree.

There used to be a Rose Records around the LBA (Lincoln, Belmont, Ashland) area about 2 miles from where we lived in Uptown. I say used to because I think it’s a mega-block Whole Foods now. Anyway, they stood in line to buy it. Maybe it was like one second after midnight. Remember those days?

There must have been other things as well on their mind. They were only a week or two at the most away from getting married. Her family was coming over from Norway and Ed’s would be traveling in from Michigan. But first they had to get this disc.

And, because they didn’t have a car and didn’t want to waste money on the bus, they decided to run home. Their CD player had 2 jacks, so they plugged in separate headphones and running beneath street lamps and down deserted streets, their breath foggy in the dim light, they listened to “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Together they experienced the album that would revolutionize our early 20s.

Together they found what they were looking for. Happy Anniversary Ed & Hilde. 29 years and running strong.